1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to cards such as cash cards, credit cards, ID cards, security cards and the like. More particularly, this invention relates to a card having an information recording portion.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The following cards having a portion in which information can be recorded are known in the prior art: A card in which magnetic stripes are formed on one surface of a card substrate and information is magnetically recorded on the magnetic stripes; a card in which a microcomputer formed of a semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) is incorporated within the card substrate and information is recorded (stored in a memory of the microcomputer, etc.).
The card having such information recording portion is now widely used as a card for withdrawing money, placing a deposit or confirming a balance, a credit card, an employee ID card, a student card, a so-called prepaid card, etc.
Upon use, such a prior art card is introduced into an information reading apparatus (i.e., card reader), whereby recorded information is read out from the card. Accordingly, such recorded information cannot be read out from a remote place, i.e. a place which is at a distance from the card itself.
To solve this problem, the assignee of the present application has previously proposed a bar code by which the user can read out information recorded on a card from the remote place. U.S. Pat. No. 5,091,636, issued on Jun. 3, 1991, to the present invention and Shosuke Tankaka, both employees of the assignee of the present application describes this bar code. See also the present inventor's prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,930, issued Jun. 2, 1992. In this previously proposed bar code, the life span of the recorded information is long and is weatherproof. The signal-to-noise ratio (S/N ratio) is excellent and the recorded information can be prevented from being deteriorated in quality by transfer and magnetization. In particular, as described above, the most specific feature of this bar code lies in the fact that the recorded information can be read out from a very distant place.
Such a bar code makes effective use of a so-called retroreflective material, wherein stripes made of retroreflective material are provided in conjunction with black bars (or white bars) of bar code printed on a prior art sheet of paper or the like and the spacing between the stripes is determined in correspondence with the width of the white bars (or black bars). According to this bar code, when a light is irradiated on the bar code from a place distant from the bar code by several meters or several 10's of meters, a reflected light is obtained from the retroreflective material in substantially the same direction as that of the incident light.
The above-mentioned bar code is constructed as follows: A stripe-shaped retroreflective material (stuck to a mount) formed of a set of glass beads, plastic beads, micro-prisms, fly-eye lens or the like is stuck to a base plate with a predetermined spacing or a plurality of stripe-shaped retroreflective materials (stuck to a mount) are unitarily formed with a frame made of retroreflective material, thereby being stuck to a base plate. Alternatively, the above-described bar code is formed such that a cover film in which transparent stripes and opaque stripes are formed so as to form a bar code is stuck to a sheet formed of a sheet of retroreflective material. Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Gazette No. 50-154747 describes this type of retroreflective sheet.
Recently, it is a general trend that a user may own several cards in which a variety of information is recorded. However, as the number of cards is increased, the more the administration of cards becomes cumbersome. Therefore, it is earnestly desired that as much information as possible be recorded (i.e., stored) in a single card.
Now, let us consider a company ID card by way of example. The employee's name, employee No., employee's position or division, employee's photo, etc., are printed on one side of the company ID card and magnetic stripes in which information (i.e., data) such as the employee's name, employee No., employee's position and so on are magnetically recorded on the other side of the card. Upon use, the information recorded on the magnetic stripes is read out by a card reader so that the card is utilized as a time-recorder card and an after-paid card in the company dining room.
On the other hand, in most cases, the employee is requested to carry the company ID card whenever entering the company building and other company facilities. Generally, the identity of the person presenting the company ID card is visually confirmed by the guard. In that case, if the data such as the employee's name, employee No. and so on recorded on the company ID card are read out by a card reader, the confirmation of the company ID card by the guard becomes unnecessary and also the confirmation becomes highly reliable. However, when the information recorded on the company ID card are read out by a card reader at an unmanned entrance into the company building, those who do not carry the company ID card may also be permitted to enter. However, if the information recorded on the company ID card can be read out from a manned, but remote place, the comings and goings to the company building, the company facilities or the like can be positively confirmed by a machine.